Over the past several years, the popularity of golf has soared, leading to a great number of inventions that allow a player to get enjoyment by playing a simulated game or to practice by using a machine to analyze a player's golf swing.
Particularly relevant to game simulation are inventions in the prior art using gesture recognition to allow a player to make realistic movements that are mimicked on a video display. For example, a player playing a simulated golf game can use a real or mock golf club to make the movements of an actual golf swing and see the mimicked swing on a video display followed by the graphical representation of a golf ball flying off a graphical tee, hopefully towards a graphical hole. U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,758, issued to Sato, for “Input Apparatus” “outputs as operator information the position specifying information obtained by detecting input apparatus's physical displacement, movement velocity, or acceleration to generate a predetermined command signal corresponding to movements of a human being for example”. Sato further discloses using an oscillation gyroscope to sense angular velocity and a temperature sensor to correct errors in movement related data caused by changing temperature conditions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,105, issued to Eisenbrey, et al., for “Acceleration Activated Joystick” discloses a “video game user interface device that allows the user to play standard video games using realistic arm, leg and body movements which relate to the various activities portrayed in the video game being played. The device is sensitive to acceleration and outputs a signal to the video game controller when an acceleration is detected.” U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,836, issued to Norton, et al., for “Motion-Based Command Generation Technology” discloses a command system that “optically monitors the movement of a subject and provides command signals to a computer system to control a graphic of a graphical user interface displayed on a monitor such as an animated character in a video game.” Norton accomplishes this by using an “optical detector unit which continuously scans a subject frame in which a subject is positioned” and comparisons of scans of sub-regions in the frame to determine if the subject has moved. Once movement is detected, the graphical representation on a video screen can simulate the movement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,639, issued to Bouton, for “Opto-Electric Golf Club Swing Sensing System Having Vertically Offset Sensors” discloses a “video golf swing sensing system responsive to a user swinging a golf club” that “provides inputs to a video golf game operating on a personal computer having a monitor, a microprocessor, and a serial port.” Bouton uses a sensing system comprising linear arrays of LEDs and photodetectors “for detecting a club head parameter by sensing light reflected off the club head.” These gesture recognition apparatuses and methods in the prior art use sophisticated mapping schemes to let a user participate in simulated activities using motions that would be used in the real activity.
Particularly relevant to golf swing analysis are inventions in the prior art that measure certain characteristics of a golf swing such as club speed and position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,105, issued to Shimizu, for “Golf Practice Device” discloses a “golf practice device comprising a mat with at least two sensors arranged therein in the direction of a swing orbit of a head of a golf club. A swing time substantially from a start of a back swing to a point of an impact with a golf ball is calculated in response to signals output by the sensors, and the result is indicated so that a golfer can observe same and thus achieve a stable swing.” U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,084, issued to Marsh, for “Golf Swing Measurement System” discloses “A technique for measuring golf swing tempo or clubhead speed for a golfer swinging a golf club through a tee area. Two parallel infrared (IR) transmitters transmit respective IR beams along predetermined lines toward the tee area. Respective IR sensors receive respective IR beams reflected from a reflector mounted to the shaft of the golf club, near the clubhead. Each IR sensors provides a respective output signal indicative of the passage of the golf club through a corresponding IR beam. Predetermined sequences of output signals from the IR sensors are detected and the differences in time between various output signals are measured to provide tempo and clubhead speed values for display on a LCD screen. The speed values can be compensated values as obtained from look-up tables.” U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,965, issued to Nighan, et al., for “Golf Swing Training Device With Laser” discloses an apparatus that uses at least one laser device that provides a feedback signal to the golfer that is indicative of a position and a motion of the head during the top of a backswing of the golf club by the golfer.” The laser device may also be used to project a beam that provides visual feedback to the user, such as by showing a path on the ground or the motion and position of the golf club head. U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,579, issued to Hart, for “Golf Swing Analysis System And Method” discloses a laser based system that uses a monochromatic laser projector to generate a series of light planes in space near the impact zone where the golf club impacts the golf ball and a laser-based attachment for the golf club. This system and method attempts to analyze an entire golf swing by measuring certain characteristics of a golf swing as it passes through the impact zone. U.S. Pat. No. 7,785,211, issued to Hackenberg, for “Golf Swing Trainer Having Balanced Center Of Mass” discloses a “golf swing trainer providing a resiliently flexible shaft having a first shaft end coupled to a swing element and a second shaft end coupled to a grip having a tapered external surface gripably received by the hands.”
The prior art is deficient because it does not provide an apparatus and method of providing an attachment to a golf club that detects and measures the movement of the golf club through an entire swing, that displays the entire swing movement of the golf club on a graphical display along with relevant statistics, and that provides coaching using theoretical and historical data with graphical and verbal feedback. The gesture recognition techniques described above are deficient because they are merely used as input for games and simulations and are not used to record and analyze all major aspects of a full golf swing and to provide feedback and coaching to a user so that user may improve his or her golf game. The golf swing analysis techniques described above are deficient because they attempt to analyze entire swing using only a small portion of the swing and a limited number of statistics such as club speed or they do not use a real golf club. Additionally, many inventions in the prior art require a fair amount of equipment, making them costly.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a lightweight attachment to a golfer's actual golf club that detects and measures the movement of a full golf swing, that analyzes the entire golf swing, that provides comprehensive statistics for every point of an entire swing, that displays the movement of the entire swing on a graphical display with the comprehensive statistics, and that coaches the golfer on how to improve the swing using theoretical and historical data. This can be accomplished by attaching an apparatus of negligible weight to the shaft or top of a golf club where the apparatus comprises a 3-axis accelerometer, a 3-axis gyroscope, computer memory, a microprocessor, a transmitter, and a battery such that is communicates with a computer application running on a mobile device such as a smart phone, tablet computer, or a laptop computer. To compensate for differences in the angles that individual golfers address the ball, a 3-axis magnetometer can be used to select the target line on which a golfer wishes to aim. The inventions discussed in connection with the described embodiment address these and other deficiencies of the prior art.
The features and advantages of the present inventions will be explained in or apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment considered together with the accompanying drawings.